Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Tiger mom's memoir meets ferocious roar

A new memoir of bad-ass parenting, Chinese style, from a self-proclaimed tiger mother has unleashed a ferocious roar.

Fallout was swift for Yale law professor Amy Chua after she published a stark essay in The Wall Street Journal exposing harsh words and heavy handed methods with her two teen daughters.

Her "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" shot to No. 6 in the Amazon sales rankings Tuesday, the day it was released, likely fueled by angry buzz over the weekend column and a headline Chua had nothing to do with: "Why Chinese Mothers are Superior."

Adult offspring of Asian and Asian American immigrants are weighing in on Chua's provocative description of Eastern-style parenting: No sleepovers or playdates. Grueling rote academics. Hours of piano and violin practice. Slurs like "lazy" and "garbage," and threats to burn stuffed animals when things don't go mom's way.

Some see truth and a borderline abuser. Others see dangerous stereotype with the potential to feed China haters and xenophobes. Still others publicly thanked their moms online for similar, though less extreme, methods.